Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

September 1, 2012

THUMBS UP: Congratulations to Annette Perry, one of the 2012 Brown County Outstanding Senior Citizens, who was recognized as one of the Minnesota Outstanding Senior Citizens this week at the Minnesota State Fair.

It is a fine honor, and a well-deserved one. Perry has been a sparkplug for the many volunteer activities she has been part of. She always brings a special joy to whatever she does.

Wildlife area

THUMBS UP: A new public wildlife area was dedicated near Sleepy Eye this week, the Dennis and Mary Hoffrogge tract, part of the Verona State Wildlife Management Area.

The 364-acre tract was put together with a partnership of the Minnesota DNR, the Hoffrogges, Brown County Pheasants Forever, New Ulm Izaak Walton League, Sleepy Eye Sportsmen's Club, Lost Dog and Fox Hunters Club, Minnesota Deer Hunters Sioux Trails Chapter, Anoka County Pheasants Forever, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Funding also came from the state's Outdoor Heritage Fund.

This sort of natural area will provide a wide range of outdoor recreation in the future. Congratulations to all involved.

DWI enforcement

THUMBS UP: It is good to hear that Minnesota's DWI enforcement efforts seem to be paying off. The Minnesota State Patrol announced this week that the state's annual late summer DWI?enforcement efforts produced far fewer arrests than last year. Over two weekends recently, 605 drunk drivers were arrested. Last year nearly three times as many were arrested.

Even better, the number of deaths related to DWI accidents is falling - over the past five years the number has dropped 34 percent.

But there are still far too many drunk drivers. We were all horrified recently by the accident near Willmar where three people, representing three generations of one family, were killed in a head-on collisison with a 21-year-old man who had an open bottle of alcohol in his car and who told officers he had been drinking that night.

Until such tragedies end, the state should keep up its vigorous enforcement until people learn that it is never good to drink and drive.